In the World of Tragedy
by sincerelyshelbylee
Summary: When Katniss and Peeta escape the games and the Capitol, they are left to deal with normal life. Or their version of normal life anyway. Peeta is content, but Katniss is scared. *I do not own HG or any of the characters. SC owns them.*


**Author Note: I do not own The Hunger Games series. The characters and plots are entirely Suzanne Collin's works, but I do enjoy them enough to write about them in my own views. Rated T for Teen. Read at your own risk. **

After all this time, his memory is still with me. It won't matter now, I'm about to marry Peeta. Peeta, the boy with the bread, my rock.  
>"Katniss," his voice came out like a shock to me. I had been lying in bed, my cold arms wrapped underneath the thick wool blanket that lay on our bed. <em>Our<em> bed. Mine and Peeta's. It doesn't matter how many times I utter those words, or think them, they still shock me. "Katniss?"  
>"I'm in here. I'm alright." The voice that came from where I was didn't sound like my own. It sounded sick and distorted. Why was I feeling like this? Cold feet I think. I love him, I do, but there's just something about that one man in my life that I can't forget. What was his name, though? I feel like my memory has been erased. All that's happened in the last year or so has changed me in a way that I'm not sure I like.<br>The door to the bedroom opens and Peeta's body floats near me. He's an angel in my eyes. He saved me, several times. "Are you okay? Not backing out, right? You still have a chance to back out if you want." The bed moves downwards as his body weight is added next to mine. His silk-like skin touches my coarse skin on my cheek, his fingers tracing the lines on my face that have been created by stress.  
>"I'll be fine. Just a little nervous is all. You know how much I hate dresses and girly shoes." And having my hair done, my make-up done and being paraded around in front of tons of people just to get attention, when I don't really want it.<br>Sure, we are technically already married, but this time we are getting remarried in the view of our friends and family. It's for real this time. This time we aren't lying about it, or I'm not. Peeta never was lying about it. He has always loved me. Even when we were children. 

"_I'll be back soon, Prim. One day, you can go to school, too! We can both be learning things!" Small me, tiny me, young me. Always talking to Prim as if this whole life was exciting, but ever since my father took me out to hunt when I was five, I knew this world was not right. We were always in danger, and always would be.  
>"Okay!" She held onto a little teddy bear she had found near the peacekeeper's house and waved goodbye.<br>As I left for school, I waved to my father as he left for work, and to my mother as she placed a hand over Prim's shoulder. Even in these times, a happy family was possible because that's what we were.  
>"Catnip!" Gale came running towards me and he socked me right in the shoulder. It didn't hurt. I gave him a swift punch back, straight into his chest and then chuckled softly. I loved him. He was like a brother to me, I think. "Hey! We have to sit in the back of the room today! I have a plan to escape!"<br>"Gale, how many times do I have to tell you that we can't escape? Or we shouldn't." I rolled my eyes as I dragged him by his shirt into the classroom. We had to push past quite a few people, including the Mayor's daughter. How come she had to spoil our fun? I don't even know her name. I hate her, though.  
>Gale sat down at his normal desk in the back. The rows were all in fives, and there were four rows. Half of the room was filled; the other half was empty today. I figure it's only because that half of the room had died of hunger. Nothing new.<br>Wait. There is something new today. There's a boy. Has he always been in this class? I haven't noticed him since the room has been full most of the year. He's cute, too.  
>"Catnip?" Gale's voice came out like an arrow to me. I had been staring at the new boy. "That's Peeta Mellark. He's the baker's son."<br>"Oh. I haven't noticed him before." My grey eyes traveled and met the boy's blue eyes. He had been staring at me, so when I looked back, his face turned red and he looked away._

When I wake from yet another dream of my dear, sweet Peeta, he's gone. He isn't sitting next to me, and the door is closed. The lights are dim, and it's dark outside. I fell asleep again. "Gale," it came out of my mouth, the boy's name. That's who he is. When I say it, my heart races. I need to see him, to apologize.  
>I slide out of bed and realize how utterly cold I am. When I see myself in the mirror on the door, I immediately blush red. My naked body is in full view. I must have been laying in bed since last night. Yeah, last night. That's when it was. I think. I grab a few clothes and place them over my body, and then head down towards the kitchen where I can smell the bread baking.<br>"Peeta. I'm going to District 2. I'll be back tomorrow in time for the wedding, I promise you." I keep my eyes averted, he knows. He knows why I'm going. I hate to feel like I'm breaking his heart with the words, but I have to do this before I officially marry Peeta. I have to apologize for breaking Gale's heart. I have to apologize for making him waste his time waiting for me while I was in the games. For not running away with him when I said I would. I have to apologize for everything I've ever done to hurt him.  
>The one word that came out of Peeta's mouth hit me like a brick. "Alright." He didn't look at me, he didn't say anything. All he did was hand me my game bag with some items in it. It was like he knew I would want to do this before we got married.<br>"I love you." I planted a soft kiss to his lips, but he pulled away and continued his work. His hands skillfully manipulating the dough on the table, swirling some sugar into the mix and some cinnamon as well.  
>With that, I turned on the heel of my boot and walked right out of that quaint house in the Victor's Village and headed towards District 2. Towards Gale.<p> 


End file.
